L Devine Is Born Again on 'Near Life Experience Part Two'
Photo: Courtesy of Warner Records
Where has L Devine been all our lives? The likely answer is somewhere out in the UK crafting the infectious, iridescent pop music of our dreams. And with the release of Near Life Experience Part Two, the rising UK pop star makes a grand return to the dancefloor she's likely to rule in the years to come.
Near Life Experience Part Two arrives as the follow-up to Near Life Experience Part One, which included standout singles "Girls Like Sex" and "Priorities." Over the course of five distinctive tracks, L Devine showcases her enviable pop range, jumping from radio-ready, begging-to-be-played-on-repeat anthems to stripped-back melancholic meditations on the loss of innocence. It's an impressive sonic breadth carried by some of the best pop-minded production we've heard all year.
As the grand finale to her earlier EP, Near Life Experience Part Two builds on its foundation to deliver one final moment of catharsis. "Near Life Experience: Part Two feels like I'm making my way through the comedown from the horny party that was Part One. I don't think 'Die On The Dancefloor' could have come at a more perfect time. It's an ode to all the nights out we've missed out on over the past 18 months. I love the way the song romanticizes a night out and makes it feel like an all or nothing, dramatic and magical experience. Now, we can finally go out with our friends and go so hard that we simply perish on the dancefloor. It feels like the perfect finale for the two parts - the near life experience is over, I have died on the dancefloor and will be born again!," shares L Devine.
The opening and standout track "I Want to Die on the Dancefloor" hits particularly close to home, arriving at a time when concerts and festivals are finally making their return. And as L Devine calmly utters the words "I want to die on the dancefloor / Dripping in glitter and sweat" against an array of rapturous production, it's difficult not to get swept up in what feels like a once-a-lifetime moment of euphoria. Rather than come down from the fervor she just induced, she keeps the party going with "Peachy Keen," a futuristic pop endeavor that would feel perfectly at home on a Charli XCX record.
While the latter half of Near Life Experience Part Two sees L Devine demonstrating her more emotive chops, never does it come at the cost of crafting a lasting earworm. L Devine is just the sort of pop star we need right now, one who can serve as our escape from the mundanity of a nine-to-five and hold our hand as we come down from it all.
Listen to Near Life Experience Part Two below:
